Tone In The Poem 'History'

The diction in the poem “History” initially conveys an objective tone that shifts to a playfully mischievous tone which then transitions to a morbidly depressing tone.
In the beginning of the poem, the speaker describes Grandma with eyes that are “small with sleep” and how she crushes chiles with a “stone brought from Guadalajara.”
The way the speaker depicts Grandma’s eyes can be described as neutral and factual.
The Guadalajaran stone represents Grandma’s past history, hence the title of the poem.
Despite her tiredness, Grandma is still determined to get a head start on her daily routine which emphasizes her hardworking nature.
The speaker’s tone begins to change the moment Grandma reveals her “secret cigar box” and pulls “tiny chocolates”
from her “paisley bandana.”
When she unearths her cigar box, Grandma demonstrates her mischievous personality as she secretly hides coins and bills in there.
The way she pulls out chocolates from her bandana show that she can be playful and find the tiny joys in life.
However, this lively tone shifts to morbidly depressing once Grandma’s sorrows are displayed by her “insides [that] were washed of tapeworm” and how her second son was “dropped from a ladder” and turned to dust.
These points exhibit the tragedies in Grandma’s life what with having to cope with not only the changes within her body, but also the death of her son.
Her depressing circumstances makes the speaker question how Grandma does it to find the positive in life when her own life is grim and tainted with tragedy.
Ultimately, the various shifts in tone convey the fact that appearances can be deceiving.